Went to a local dealer event this afternoon, a VIP Event, whatever that means, anyway I really went to try out the Rapid. I think its a great looking design, and still do. Anyway all was fine until I got in, oh dear...Think Korean about 7 years ago ..very low rent, dull and dark plastics, and just unappealing but hey ho, I`d gone with the intention of really liking this car and thought ok I can live with it. So off we went on the test drive...

Now that was a revelation..very uncomfortable seating and not something I`d want to be in for a long time but the worst part was the steering. It just didnt feel like it was properly connected. So light that any quick movement meant you oversteered. Certainly would not want to be in this thing on the motorway in adverse conditions.

I gave it a good test, all the time trying to find a reason to live with it. The suspension was poor and went over some rough road(not hard to find) only to find it jiggled about. Brought it back and went out straight away in a Roomster..What a difference, everything was just as you would expect from a modern Skoda, properly weighted steering and comfortable seats etc..

Talking to sales staff it appears the vast majority of `test drivers` have come to the same conclusion and they just arnt selling..in fact the dealer didnt even have any on display in the showroom at a busy event....sadly very little interest apparantly..

The big question is how could Skoda have got this so badly wrong. It feels as if it was build for an emerging market and foised on the UK as an afterthought.

Frankly I`m gutted that it didnt come anywhere near my expectations.......I just wish it had....I could forgive a lot of things to get my hands on the design but in the end it was no......Bought the Roomster instead...

Still I would expect some major changes soon as the dealers are piling the pressure on SUK.....Test car was a 1.2Tsi 105 SE

Edited 25 May, 201313 yr by paully

I felt the same when the Rapid first came out, I'm not slating the Rapid, but it's not for me

Only ever seen one on the road and that was on Friday, says it all really

Got to laugh at some people's views - and all that from a quick test drive.

Fabia 1, Beetle, Golf mk4 etc all horrible plastic yet they didn't get slated?

Don't understand your views about the ride or seats. Come from a mk1 fabia vrs and mk2 fabia vrs previously.

Agreed on the whole (although thought the seats were ok), to me there does feel like a lack of engineering depth / development in certain areas - it's certainly Skoda's worst model overall currently IMO and the local dealers seem to back this up with tales of low sales due to unimpressed test drivers and SUK getting the pricing too high. :( However, at the right price I believe it wold make a pretty solid family car, especially with that boot!

Got to laugh at some people's views - and all that from a quick test drive.

Fabia 1, Beetle, Golf mk4 etc all horrible plastic yet they didn't get slated?

Don't understand your views about the ride or seats. Come from a mk1 fabia vrs and mk2 fabia vrs previously.

Read what I said, it wasnt the plastics that put me off, its the `go kart` standard steering and poor suspension..doesnt take more than 5 minutes to sus those things out......

very low rent, dull and dark plastics, and just unappealing but hey ho,

The suspension was poor and went over some rough road(not hard to find) only to find it jiggled about.

Nothing about plastic then?

Edited 25 May, 201313 yr by Ad Lav

Suspension is very compliant, much better than fabia.

I've had some time to mature my opinion on the Rapid.

In response to the points you raised:

- Korean cars have done nothing but increase in value since the turn of the century to the point where one might subjectively describe them as 'expensive' cars. Admittedly, they are mostly of sound quality and reliability, but add an extra or two or sneak up a single trim level and suddenly the price is sky high.

- The dull and dark plastics seem a common theme throughout every current model of Skoda. Literally, I can walk around my dealership and every single car in the place is a bland sea of black inside until you spec up to elegance ivory...

Personally, the plastic quality itself seems irrelevant given the build quality is indefinitely first rate. And either way, the plastic quality is supposedly being upgraded later this year.

- For me, I never found the (standard) seats not to be uncomfortable at all, quite the opposite, and I enjoyed the wide-ranging adjustments one could make not only to the seat, but also the wheel.

- I agree on the steering. My felicia doesn't have power steering, and the weight of the Rapid's wheel was so weird and alien to me that I could scarcely form any opinion on it. I only really drove around the block but it did seem somewhat lifeless or maybe uninvolving.

- I never took any notice of the suspension if I'm quite honest, which may mean it's fine?.

I'm always fannying on with the 'build your own' thing on the SUK website, and was surprised that an 'S' spec Rapid in 1.2TSI 86 guise costs £13700 yet a diesel 'S' costs £16150 , some £2450 more!

I'm aware diesels mostly cost more anyway, but that seems excessive - is it the same margin with other models or other marques?

Nonetheless, I maintain that the TSI units make for a good value runabout.

Finally, I keep asking the dealer if he's shifted any more Rapids and his universal reply seems to be 'a few', but maybe he's being defensive?

I'm seeing more and more Rapids and Toledos about by the day.

Plus one for jonesy92.

Steering can be adjusted and I shall be doing this, it is fairly light.

Is it just the rapid, or does the Toledo suffer as badly?

Is it just the rapid, or does the Toledo suffer as badly?

ive not driven a Toledo but usually Seat have a slightly sportier setup, suspension wise. Having said that, I'm sure they both had the same negatives from the journo's regarding their ride and handling so I'm not sure. For my money, the Toledo is the better looking of the two, both internally and externally but I could just never see myself buying a Seat!

Each to their own and everything, but there appear to be 4 little differences between the Rapid interior and the Toledo:

The seat upholstery, the gear lever, the steering wheel and the interior door handles...

This interior may be marginally 'better' but the price not so.

The difference between the 'S' models is about £420, so you're either paying more for the badge, or more the minor differences in interior.

Each to their own and everything, but there appear to be 4 little differences between the Rapid interior and the Toledo:

The seat upholstery, the gear lever, the steering wheel and the interior door handles...

This interior may be marginally 'better' but the price not so.

The difference between the 'S' models is about £420, so you're either paying more for the badge, or more the minor differences in interior.

everyone of the three items you regularly touch and the seats are pretty important things though. I'm sure the Toledo interior just felt a 'nicer' place to be, perhaps it was just down to the lighter coloured plastics they used but in terms of ambience I went from one to the other within 48 hrs and just preferred it to the Rapids. Tbh, the £420 difference is pretty irrelevant when Seat are offering £2500 off before the dealer negotiations even begin!

http://www.dalescorn...wquay/13863996/

http://www.autoweb.c.../rapid/14209442

Interior of Rapid looks so much nicer in black! Having said that the steering wheel in the Toledo looks nicer.

Both look failry good, Seat maybe a bit sportier?

Edited 26 May, 201313 yr by Ad Lav

Thankfully we don't all like the same things :-) Not convinced about the lighter interior personally, it's very close to the 'suicide grey' used in Toyota's in the 90s

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Each to their own!

Paully - I'm sure you'll like the Roomster, I had one for over 5 years and was very happy with it however I part ex-ed the Roomster for the Rapid and find it to be a better car in most departments. That said the Roomster had the old-tech 1.6 petrol and I suspect the more modern engine in the Rapid is a large part of the improvement.

I did prefer the steering in the Roomster I have to say - it has very good feel and was also a faster rack than the Rapid.

I haven't driven a Rapid with "normal" seats but find the sports seats in mine to be very comfortable as well as nice looking.

To me the Rapid looks upmarket with an almost Audi or BMW esque look. The SE demo spec with 17" alloys and tinted glass really help it here. As for the interior, the plastics may be cheap but they at least look good quality and seem well screwed together. Again in SE demo spec the Amundsen, Maxidot and Climatronic units help it.

Comparing the two the Toledo actually has less spec, it has plastic wheel trims on the E and S trims which just make it look like a cheap spanish rental and not a serious car. It also lacks certain options like the very comfortable and supportive sport seats. SEAT aren't shifting them at all, whereas the Rapid is selling (slowly). Neither are ever going to be big sellers as they look like small saloons and most people want hatchbacks or mpvs.

Given we've currently got a Rapid, Leon and A1 in the family fleet and have previously had several VWs and SEATs I feel fairly qualified to comment and compare. It is in no way an inferior product and with that 550 litre boot offers a very unique selling point for a C-segment vehicle.

I thought the interior was fine...

It is a cheap, but practical car after all.

My specced up Yeti was about £10k more to buy new, so of course it's better.

I think people need to bare in mind where the Rapid is aimed.

Then look at the mk2 Fabia/Roomster with it's interior that features three big really cheap looking plastic dials right in the middle of the dash.

Which make sense on a low price car, even though they could have easily been improved.

I've put about 1300 miles on mine and the only thing that's left me feeling a bit let down is the lack of one-touch-up on the electric windows.

I give a guy who hates driving a lift to work everyday and he struggled with comfort with the seats in my mk1 Fabia but gets on much better with the standard seats in the Rapid. He's also astonished that considering the size of the car my fuel economy is within a couple of mpg of his little 1.2 Ford Ka when I drive the same way he does (follow lorries at 60 etc to minimise consumption).

(Also, I'd hate driving too if I was stuck in a Ka)

I've got a 320 mile round trip coming up a few weekends away to give my mum a lift to my sister's place in South Wales so that'll be a good test of seat comfort.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

I've ordered the sports seats for mine.

Felt the same as the mk2 Fabia VRS seats, which personally were the thing I liked best about the Fab2.

I'd be willing to consider an upgrade to the sports seats if I found them to offer better comfort, although budget for doing that as private upgrade may well be an issue.

If anything, the main interior upgrade I'd want is the arm rest (and even then that'd really only be for the extra internal storage feature). Did ask Lee from Preston Motors to check out the price for me but it looks like it'd have to be ordered as a part rather than accessory which was absurdly expensive so it's a no-go for now :(

Woohoo, another Rapid fan

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/277240-whats-this-theyve-given-me-2/